Dell Latitude E6420: Hands On

Dell's Latitude E6420 feels like a solidly made business laptop that performs well.

Following Dell's sweeping overhaul of its business lineup on Tuesday, reporters were encouraged to play with Dell's new devices. I picked the notebook that felt most comfortable to me: the Dell Latitude E6420, a model with a full-size keyboard and 14-inch display.

Unlike our mobile analyst Cisco Cheng, who runs his fingers over many, many laptop models, I have few chances to try out new hardware. My recent experiences have been with ZD's company-issued Lenovo ThinkPad T410i, an Apple MacBook Air, a couple of random HP Envy notebooks at a computer store, and a few random Asus models at the recent Consumer Electronics Show.

At first glance, the E6220 seemed compact (13.86 inches wide by 1.06-inches high by 9.949 inches deep) and well designed. In part, that may have been because it was placed next to the E5520, which boasts a full-sized keyboard with number pad, and looks wide enough to build a small shed on top of it.

The E6220 weighs 4.56 pounds with a four-cell battery. The construction felt solid, with no real flexing, possibly due to Dell's "trimetal" construction that was tested against MIL-STD-810g specs for dust, vibration, and high altitudes. The fit and finish feels no-nonsense and utilitarian.

There's one other interesting note: you'll have to hunt to find the "Latitude" name on the machine, and really squint to find the model name - it's not even on the customer-facing part of the machine, but etched in miniscule on the bottom. A Dell executive explained that the "debadged" look (my words) was a conscious design decision to give the notebook a cleaner appearance. God forbid that you require that info for a support call.

That may be because the new Latitudes are designed with consumer elements in mind. There's a slightly rounded bezel on both the monitor and chassis that, to me, suggests a kid's toy rather than a productivity machine - a minor aesthetic gripe. Inside, supposedly, are an optional HD webcam and noise-reducing microphones - both supposedly concessions to the "Gen Y" or "Millennial" generation that wants a consumer device that can be worked on. I didn't have a chance a play with these, but no one will argue that higher-quality components make for a better experience, either at home or at work.

The E6420 is built around the Intel Core 2 "Sandy Bridge" chips, and Dell executives say they won't be affected by the Cougar Point issue. Users have a choice between Intel's HD graphics or the Nvidia NVS 4200M chip. OS options include wither Windows 7 Basis, Home Premium, Professional, three Vista choices,or Ubuntu 10.10.

I still haven't found a keyboard that I prefer to type on more than the the Lenovo/IBM ThinkPad, and the new Latitudes are no exception. For some odd reason, the E6420's keyboard felt a bit cramped, although I'm hard pressed to say why - I believe it was a full-sized, 100 percent keyboard.

I did find some features that improve the experience, however - small ones, like the placement of the "Delete" key all the way to the upper right, where it's easily found. (The power button is near the same location, but far enough away that it shouldn't pose a problem.) The keyboard is also spill-resistant and backlit, both boons for the traveler. You'll probably want more of a true netbook for comfortable tray-table typing, however.

The E6420 comes standard with a 14-inch (1366-by-768) LED screen, although a touchscreen model and a 1600 by 900 model are also available. In my brief time with the machine, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary with the display.

Although I couldn't test the hard drive, Dell said that each Latitude could be equipped with an "E-Module Bay II" secondary hard-drive option, allowing a user to detach and swap a secondary hard drive with another user, or store it in a separate location for safekeeping.

Dell also promises that the components will all be accessible via single access door.

Connectivity options include four USB 2.0 slots, an optional USB 3.0 module, Gigabit Ethernet, and a number of Wi-Fi options, ebginning with 802.11n. Users can also select WiMAX and HSPA-EVDO connectivity.

The notebook also comes with a memory card reader, HDMI out, a 54-mm ExpressCard, and one full and two half-size mini card slots.

We'll have to wait for battery-life tests, but I have a picture of the E6420 with 71 percent battery life remaining, or 3 hours and 11 minutes. Battery options include a standard 4-cell (40 Whr) battery or a 6-cell (60 Whr) cell, with additional 9-cell and 3-cell options.

Dell executives also emphasized that corporate users will be able to tap into the company's virtualization services to access consumer data and services, and to keep them separate from their business environment.

Unfortunately, we won't know the price of the E6420 or the other notebooks until closer to launch - a key determinant of whether an IT shop invests in the new hardware. For now, however, I'd say Dell has designed a solid, practical business notebook.

Mark Hachman Mark joined ExtremeTech in 2001 as the news editor, after rival CMP/United Media decided at the time that online news did not make sense in the new millennium.
Mark stumbled into his career after discovering that writing the great American novel did not pay a monthly salary, and that his other possible career choice, physics, required a degree of mathematical prowess that he sorely lacked.
Mark talked his way into a freelance assignment at CMP’s Electronic Buyers’ News, in 1995, where he wrote the...
More »